Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Greater access to edible marijuana leads to increase of children admitted to hospital

Following the first four months of Colorado's retail marijuana law, hospitals and doctors are already reporting some unintended consequences.

Access to retail marijuana and marijuana products began on Jan. 1, 2014. Since that date, Children's Hospital Colorado reported treating 9 children for ingesting edible marijuana. Six of those nine children became critically ill. By comparison, Children's treated only 8 children for ingesting edible marijuana during all of 2013.

"We know that children are getting a hold of these products accidentally through just the availability of these products in the house," said Dr. Kari Franson, Associate Dean for Professional Education at the University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Dr. Frason explained that doctors had difficultly diagnosing marijuana exposure if an adult did not initially disclose it.

"Some of them (were) even admitted to the intensive care unit, getting procedures that they didn't necessarily need because nobody admitted the child had unfortunately received, had gotten into some of the medical marijuana that was in the house," said Franson.